Posted by Day 20/81: August 11th
Kim: AWAIT FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS (2018)
“I actually really enjoyed this overall. Cool idea and well acted. The ending got a bit away from itself for me but definitely worth a watch.”
Bob: SCARY STORIES TO TELL THE DARK (2019) –
More details on my review in a few days but I mostly dug it. Wish we had more stories told or a straight up anthology format. There is a bit too much non-book story, cut that down add a little more adaptation of the books I grew up loving. There is a great look and atmosphere and I can see the target audience being frightened. But it’s still a solid flick I absolutely recommend.
Cody: CHILD EATER (2017)
“so I hated this movie. Absolutely NOTHING redeeming about this flick, complete and utter garbage. Acting? Shit. Visuals? Shit. Directing? Shit. Special Effects? Shit. Script? Shit. Those who made this have violated the Geneva Convention and need to be tried for War Crimes. If anyone would like to see it, it’s free on prime!”
Amy Herring: THE FINAL WISH (2019)
“Well. Damn. It’s not good.”
Robin Lindsey: SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK (2019)
” I LOVED the Scary Stories books when I was in Elementary school. I liked the way that they put this together and it was enjoyable. I hope it works as a gateway drug for Horror for some kids now like the books did when I was young.”
Brien Gorham: A NIGHT OF HORROR vol 1 (2015)
” I was in the mood for anthologies today, so I found this one on Amazon Prime. I’d actually seen a couple of these at film festivals, so it was a pretty disjointed collection of short films, with a few being quite good.”
Jay Walker: CANNIBAL CAMPOUT (1988, Youtube)
“This is a really fun, well delivered, low-budget SOV type cannibal flick.
Strays from the traditional “lost in the jungle” cannibal attack theme and delves into a more sadistic hometown story line, similar to Lunch Meat.
For as low-budget as this is, I think it’s really well put together. Believable(ish) acting, gory enough with enjoyable FX, interesting story development, and delivers on all the slasher elements you’d want from classic 80’s horror.
I have nothing but good things to say about this flick.”
Evan Peterson (also day 19)
The Island of Dr Moreau (1996) + Lost Soul (2014):
Well. I do love the audacity of the remake of Moreau. I also now need to see everything Richard Stanley’s ever made (seeing his new Color Out Of Space at the Lovecraft fest next weekend!) The remake is delightfully grotesque, and it’s also a mess due to it being so chaotic behind the scenes. All three primary characters had to be recast, the director (Richard Stanley, who also wrote the screenplay) was replaced, etc. Val Kilmer is even more unlikable than usual, and Marlon Brando steals the show because he knows exactly what a shitshow they’re making. It’s fun and perverse. LOST SOUL is a documentary about all the things that went wrong during filming, and it’s a lot like Jodorowsky’s Dune, right down to Stanley being a very Jodorowsky figure. Enjoy!
Day 19/82: August 10th
Kim: BLOOD RAGE
“This movie was utterly ridiculous, but fun. The effects were true, old school slasher blood and gore.”
Bob: THE WOMAN (2011) – Video review in a few days
Lucky McGee’s collaboration with the late Jack Ketchum (the novel was published when the movie came out) is just as you’d expect with those two names. A sadistic toxic masculinity filled dad kidnaps a feral woman (the last of a clan, making this a sequel to THE OFF SEASON and THE OFFSPRING) to tame her by tying her up in the basement. You can expect how that goes. It was hard film to watch for both the content and very amateur for Lucky
https://youtu.be/Jp2wNHgizBw hour film-making. Expected better from McGee.
Cody: SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK (2019) (Full written review here)
“This will be spoiler free since it came out yesterday. This was a missed opportunity, it was a perfectly serviceable effort but unfortunately fails to pass past that. It was going to be a hard film to do given both the quality of the source material and its reverence in society. I think something that hurt it was ironically the Goosebumps movie given they share the “books becoming reality” trope although this is definitely darker in time that Goosebumps. Script is overall pretty solid as are the performances but the CGI on the monsters can be really rough and dampen the scare. Worth a watch but don’t get expectations up too high.”
Robin Lindsey: FRIDAY THE 13TH PART V: THE NEW BEGINNING (1985)
“Confession time: I’ve not seen Friday the 13th parts 5-8. I knew the plot and twist to this one going in. That said, it was weird. The effects were shortchanged so badly. I feel like they only had a budget for a single bottle of fake blood and were really trying to make it stretch. I know it went through some extensive cuts, but you can still tell there was a lack for a Friday film. I know for some this is a favorite, but I think I’m in the other camp.”
Amy Herring: THE SCHOOL (2018, Hulu)
“The School (2018 / Hulu). Take a hell metaphor, add a hefty dose of Lost Boys mythos, a pinch of Walking Dead and just a dusting of Harry Potter. Lovingly mix in a dirty bathtub until you get a Charlotte Gainsbourg lookalike. Paint the entire thing in goth makeup and dress it in costume leftovers from Mad Max. End product: a movie not worth watching 
Somebody lovingly imagined this movie into existence, but it’s just a hot mess, unfortunately. Incoherent. 1/5 stars”
Brien Gorham: GET MY GUN (2018, Shudder)
“This one just landed on Shudder this week. I knew nothing about it and I’m still not sure what I watched. On one hand it’s a disjointed mashup (I won’t say of what in case people want to go in as blind as I did), and on another it’s kind of brilliant and is more than the sum of its parts? I just don’t know – but I would love to discuss this film further.”
Jay Walker: REPO THE GENETIC OPERA (2008, Prime)
“I like this one. Sure, it’s a musical. Sure, the songs are super cringey. Sure, Paris Hilton’s in it.
But this a very unique and fun shitshow of gore, excessive kills, and an actually brilliant, dystopian, Black Mirror-esque plot.
If you can get past the musical stuff, it’s actually pretty great!
Or I’m just a huge dystopian black mirror fan so it resonates with me. Who knows 🤷🏻♂️”
Evan Peterson: NEONOMICON and PROVIDENCE: Alan Moore’s meta-Lovecraft saga. I love these two volumes; plenty of squish and grotesquery and sinister perversity, plus Moore’s Jungian-Occult take on Lovecraft’s legacy. Content advisory: graphic rape in both, usually by monsters.
Day 18/83: August 9th
Kim: SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK (2019)
“I tried to keep my expectations low because these books were my childhood. The movie was fine. I was kind of underwhelmed and felt like it was a missed opportunity.”
Bob: ASYLUM (1971, Amazon Prime)
“After two shitty anthologies, glad to have a damned good one from Amicus – the masters of anthologies. Four stories with amazing and recognizable British actors including Peter Cushing (of course), Herbert Lom, Patrick MacGree, and Britt Eklund; (this may be the first time I’ve seen Young Charlotte Rampling). All the stories are fine. The best is the first, weakest is the third – the Rampling one as it’s the most obvious – it seems like every anthology is required to have that story. Written by Robert Bloch!”
Cody: EXTREMITY (2018)
“I love the idea of an extreme haunt gone wrong scenario. Sadly no one has been quite able to nail the concept yet. Houses October Built came tantalizing close but fell just short in the end and unfortunately Extremity takes a step back into mediocrity. The lead Dana Christina does a fantastic job with what she is given while elevating the film out of the bad category on performance alone. Unfortunately the plot is very uneven, a lot of the acting is really rough and it fails to do anything truly unique.”
Amy Herring: ANNABELLE: CREATION (2017)
“I’m continuing to move through the Conjuring universe (at least the ones I haven’t seen). Enjoyed this one too, although they seemed to try harder with the special effects and ended up going a little too far, in a cheesy way compared to the first one. Still, happily on to the third when it’s available!”
Robin Lindsey: THE EYES OF MY MOTHER (2016)
“The crisp black and white makes this movie visually beautiful. Story-wise, it’s fairly simple in its setup and I like the simplicity. This is one of those where I actually appreciate the lack of explanation and background as it just adds to the general unease. And it’s just so damned calm!”
Brien Gorham: VICTOR CROWLEY (2018)
“They went back to a smaller cast and a tighter location, but pretty much the same: lots of gore, a few laughs, and not a bad way to spend 80 minutes if you’re into that kind of stuff.”
Jay Walker: DARKNESS
“I’d been curious about this for quite a while after seeing the cover in some vhs horror groups, and finally got a copy. Low-budget/SOV are always a gamble; there’s some real fun ones like Schramm, Attack of the Killer Refrigerator, And Video Violence. There’s also some absolute shitpiles like Shreck and Woodchipper Massacre.
This movie is full-blown gonzo insanity!
Plot: oh shit! Vampires! Run!
Followed by absolute mayhem from start to finish. A total bloodbath the whole way through, and the finale was nothing short of amazing!
I am stoked to hear Arrow will be doing a 2k remaster of this in the near future, cause it is not available anywhere I could find (unless you wanna spend $70 for the dvd 😒).”
Thresa Crackness: THE LONG WEEKEND
” This movie isn’t heavy on the horror but it gives you a little glimpse of what us Aussies contend with when we go camping”
Evan Peterson GODZILLA KING OF THE MONSTERS (2019)
“Finally saw it! This is some stupid, stupid, stupid fun. I’ll watch anything with Mothra in it—and there was a fun little Easter egg to acknowledge the Mothra twins from the old films. There’s a dynamite cast of diverse international actors, all of whom are 1000% better than this script. If you like Jurassic Park, Aliens, Independence Day, The Thing, and wish they were all blended into one ridiculous stupid smoothie of giant Kaiju fun in a film that earnestly satirizes its entire genre, watch this.”
Day 17/84: August 8th
Kim: THE HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY (1981)
“Fun film but lacked some of that Fulci pizazz. Still, props for the knife through the eye.”
Bob: ALL HALLOWS EVE (2013)
“A collection of shorts featuring, in some way, Art the Clown -including the short version of Terrifier. I’m not fan of Terrifier, but enjoyed that more. The shorts were pretty awfully made and the effects look like bought from Spirit’s yearly closing sale. Weird to see Art’s make up change from film to film as it evolved to what we know now. A different performer as Art as well, one that isn’t as physically capable as david Thorton. As much as I didn’t like Terrifier – Thornton did a great performance, I just didn’t like everything around it.”
Cody: SOUTHBOUND (2015)
” I had heard a low buzz of hype around this one since its release years back. Unfortunately this didn’t live up to the hype for me, it was just incredibly middling throughout the entire film. It commits a Cardinal sin for me, it’s boring. I can’t even enjoy it from a bad point of view because it never quite crosses over into the “bad” side, it’s frustratingly mediocre.”
Brien Gorham: Also 16/85: HATCHET 2 (2010) AND 3 (2013)
” I fell behind this week, so I’m doing double features the next two days. Tonight was Hatchet 2 and Hatchet 3. I actually found Hatchet 2 to be one of those rare sequels that improved on the first installment. It deepens the mythology of Victor Crowley and gives Tony Todd much more to do. I love how 2 ups the cast just to increase the body count, then 3 says, “Hold my beer.” I didn’t know there were so many ways the human body could be torn apart…”
Robin Lindsey: CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD (1980)
“I feel like I am woefully behind on my Italian horror. I was a little worried about this one at first, as it didn’t really get good until about half way through. But, overall it was pretty good. Some of the end crypt scenes look awesome. Though, at the same time a couple of the earlier effects (looking at you burly man hands) were lacking.”
Amy Herring: ANNABELLE (2014)
“I just haven’t gotten around to the rest of the Conjuring universe movies, but decided to after watching the Curse of La Llarona because I was just drawn to it and only midway through realized it was in the same universe.
I enjoyed this – there were a couple of moments that really got me. I’m glad you didn’t see the doll move – that can get campy really quick which can be it’s own kind of enjoyable but not what I was looking for. I *loved* the Rosemary’s baby vibe/homage running through it (the stroller in the street and the cage storage downstairs). I’ve heard others say they didn’t like this one but liked the other Annabelle movies better, so since I DID like this one, I’m down for more!”
Jay Walker: THE VOID
“THIS was a good one! I’m always skeptical of Netflix horror cause I assume it’s going to be a slow-burn with SpoOoOky ghost kids that pop up at 45 min in, or some over-dramatic conflict that ends in a murder.
Not the case!
Admittedly, I was partially distracted through this, so I wasn’t entirely sure if the creatures were monsters? Aliens? Demons? Whatever. It was fun. Ending is a real trip. Will definitely need to watch this again and pay attention this time.”
Teresa Cracknell: THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN (2008)
Evan Peterson: SLITHER (2006)
“seeing Night of the Creeps made me want to watch thi. It’s another love letter to the genre, like NotC. Great overt nods to NoES and Society as well, plus more I’m sure I missed. Like NotC, many characters are named for horror directors and characters. In addition to being as EXTRAVAGANT in body horror as Dead Alive or The Thing, it has two things I love: clever women kicking ass and Nathan Fillion being filled with {SPOILER} alien jizz.”
Day 16/85: August 7th
Kim: THE ISLE (2019)
“Really enjoyed this. Very atmospheric and the acting was wonderful. Enjoyable period piece”
Bob: ALL THE CREATURES ARE STIRRING (2018, Shudder)
“Yes, watching a Christmas anthology in August. Prepping for an upcoming anthology podcast episode. Commits the cardinal sin of anthologies, cutting off as the story gets going. Most of the stories either cut away at the climax or have it happen off screen. Bah Humbug!”
Cody: C.H.U.D II: BUD THE CHUD (1989)
“The amount of talent in this movie is fucking staggering. I legitimately don’t know how they managed to convince Robert Vaughn, Norman Fell or Larry Linville to appear in something called Bud the Chud. But boy am I glad they did! This movie is the height of silly and is honestly just a shitty knock off of Return of the Living Dead that they slapped the CHUD name on and released on video. However there is a ton of fun to be had in this one and most of the humor actually lands (although sometimes not in the way intended). It does a masterful job starting insane and staying that way for better or worse. I recommend getting good and loaded before popping this one in.”
Robin Lindsey: THE APOSTLE (2018)
“I loved this one. It was slightly different than the trailer portrays it (Really, when is this not the case?), but I really liked the ways it was.
Spoiler-y for a moment here…
The first time you see her, I was just like, “Oh, ok, they’re actually going there. I’m in!” With the new reverence for folk horror, this one should be getting some love.”
Amy Herring: THE CURSE OF LA LLORNA (2019)
“I stupidly didn’t realize this was part of the Conjuring world until I saw the priest flashing back to holding the doll. I enjoy James Wan’s stuff and liked this just fine. Not blown away, but enjoyable. Small, dumb thing but it was supposed to take place in the 70s and they tried but I didn’t buy it.”
Jay Walker: ARE WE NOT CATS? (Shudder)
“I heard about this under the pretense that it was a “body horror” film.
***SPOILER ALERT***
It ain’t.
A down-on-his-luck guy meets a lady who eats hair and has hairballs.
Dumb.”
Evan Peterson: NIGHT OF THE CREEPS (1986)
“Way better than I expected! This movie knows exactly what it is and never apologizes. Zombies, body horror, brain slugs from space, dead frat boys!”
Day 15/86: August 6th
Kim: DOPPELGANGER (1993)
“I know I watched the movie, but I kept getting distracted by Drew Barrymore’s white tights…
Strange movie that I may have appreciated more if I was high.”
Brien Gorham: HATCHET (2006)
“I’ve never seen any of the Hatchet movies so I’m righting that wrong this summer. It’s a goofy, fun, gory movie that knows exactly what it wants to be.”
Bob: NEXT OF KIN (1982, via Shudder)
“Very slow burn atmospheric Australian slasher-lite. It’s a VERY slow burn and I had trouble keeping attention for much of it. Yet I still liked it in the end, weird.”
Robin Lindsey: DEMONS 2 (1986, Shudder)
“I’ve seen the first Demons numerous times and freakin’ love it. This one was mediocre. It felt so disjointed. Where the first brings all the characters together, this one keeps most everybody apart and I think it hurts the story. Though, I did enjoy the movie within a movie being the straight sequel to the first. The throwback to the punks’ car outside in the theater alley was a nice touch.”
Amy Herring: ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE (2018):
“Good fun. Started out strong and maybe dragged a teensy bit as it went on but still great. Enjoyed the music (it’s a musical) and I’m not typically a musical fan. 4/5 stars.”
Jay Walker: POLTREYGEIST
“Jesus. It’s Troma. It’s a musical.
Perhaps one of their most cringey offerings; as it’s over the top with stereotypes, poopoo peepee humor, diarrhea, and chicken zombies.
I will say, though, the finale to this (if you make it that far) is beyond exceptional. One of the most exciting, disgusting, gory, creative, and hilarious massacre sequences I’ve ever seen.
The finale is definitely worth sitting through the rest.”
Evan Peterson: SWAMP THING (1982)
” Fun and hokey. Adrienne Barbeau gets to be a smart and tough federal agent who saves herself as often as she gets saved. Wes Craven’s script (and direction) give it more depth than a rubber creature feature, but even with occasionally poetic dialogue it reminds me a lot of Toxic Avenger. Still fun though!”
Day 14/87: August 5th
Kim: 1ST SUMMONING (2019, Netflix)
“Actually a solid little found footage movie. Not reinventing the wheel, but the last chunk delivered some nice moments.”
Bob: DEADTECTIVES (2019, Shudder)
This comedy-horror takes about 40 minutes of its 90 minute run time to start either of those concepts. Oh brother, that first act is VERY hard to get though with a ton of easily hateable characters and awful humor. But a turning point happens and then the movie gets hysterical. Recommended if you can stomach 40 bad minutes for 50 rather good ones.
Cody: THE COMEBACK/ENCORE (1978)
“ Why Cody, is that another enjoyable British horror flick by Pete Walker? Yes it is! Part Giallo, part slasher, part mystery and part ghost flick combine into a very edible if not perfect stew. Once again Sheila Keith has a wonderful performance and once again Walker delivers a solid horror outing. It is a little slow in places, there is a problem finding likeable heroes and some of the acting is a little rough but overall I would say it’s worth a watch! Shout-out to the hag mask for being effectively spooky and not groan worthy!”
Tony: TRICK OR TREAT (1986)
”
Of course I have to finish out my personal odyssey with a movie called TRICK OR frickin’ TREAT, and it’s a blast of a closer.
If you stuffed CARRIE; a John Hughes movie; EVILSPEAK; A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET; and the tale of Aladdin’s lamp into a studded leather jacket, this movie would be the end result.
TRICK OR TREAT (no relation to Michael Dougherty’s modern classic from 2007) came out at the height of heavy metal’s popularity with American teens. That coincided with the height of the Satanic Panic that had Christian bluenoses (and Al Gore’s wife Tipper) clutching their pearls and insisting that metal records were hiding secret, Satanic backmasked messages. The satire’s way on-the-nose here, but I laughed. A lot.
High school life–scratch that, life in general–kinda sucks for nerdy headbanger Eddie (Marc Price, AKA Skippy from the old FAMILY TIES TV show). He’s incessantly bullied from all corners, and his idol, metal star Sammi Kerr (Tony Fields) has committed suicide by immolation. Eddie’s gifted a vinyl acetate of Kerr’s last, unreleased album, and you’ll never guess what happens when Eddie happens to play the disc backwards.
OK, maybe you WILL guess. But that doesn’t make TRICK OR TREAT any less fun. Charles Martin Smith (normally an actor best known for THE UNTOUCHABLES and AMERICAN GRAFFITI) directs things briskly and with just the right amount of tongue-in-cheek silliness. There are nifty practical effects all over the place, too.
It also features a head-banging soundtrack built on tracks by Fastway, a solid metal band co-founded by ex-Motorhead axeman “Fast Eddie” Clarke. Ozzy Osbourne and Gene Simmons turn in obvious (but enjoyable) cameos as an uptight preacher and a DJ, respectively.”
” I don’t know that I’ve ever seen this movie referenced anywhere, but it was a lot of fun! Alymer was goofy but likeable at the same time. Glad I watched this one.”
Brien Gorham: MOM AND DAD (2018)
” Cage and Blair may be my new favorite screen couple. Brutal and fun and touched with dark humor, this is a bonkers exploration of middle-aged suburban angst.”
Amy Herring: LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (1960)
“After Jane Doe I wanted something mild. This was more enjoyable than I expected and Jack Nicholson really shined in this brief role. Camp and a few more giggles than I expected.
I’m counting it as horror because people are murdered in it and it was in my 50 Classic Horror Movies DVD collection that I’d forgotten I had and never watched!”
Teresa Cracknell: LAZARUS EFFECT (2015)
“ I really liked this movie and it had a good cast. It had Mark Duplass from Creep in it and I hadn’t seen him in anything else so I kept expecting him to revert to the Creep character“
Jay Walker: SOME GUY WHO KILLS PEOPLE (2010, Prime)
“This is a nice “palate cleanser” if you need a break from the more hardcore, vile stuff.
Run of the mill crime thriller with some classic slasher kills, likable character development, enough story to keep you drawn in to see what happens next, and a cute ending.”
Evan Peterson:
“L’INCONNU DU LAC (STRANGER BY THE LAKE) 2013: this one has been on my list a long time. Some people claim it for queer horror, but others say it’s not horror at all. Well, it’s French. Let’s start there. There is murder, but about ten times as much sex (including unsimulated oral and ejaculation). The protagonist falls in love with a murderer and spends the rest of the film trying to figure out what to do about that. It’s more a romance/tragedy/thriller about lonely gay men than it is horror, but it’s well made (and slow and quiet). I’m not sure if it earned the unresolved ending, or if that’s the only way to end a movie about a lonely gay guy who’s in love with a stone cold killer. I feel seen.”
Day 13/88: August 4th
Kim: THE POSSESSION OF HANNAH GRACE (2018)
“Underwhelming. Autopsy of Jane Doe did it better.”
Bob: THE STONE TAPE (1972)
” This Nigel Kneale penned teleplay was released on BBC on Christmas of 1972 and became known as another special that scared many unsuspecting viewers (see also GHOSTWATCH – which is shared a DVD with at one point). Lot of love here- good to see a reisiducal haunting and the whys of it explored. But in other ways the reputation preceded it and I expected a little more.”
Cody: THE HOUSE OF LONG SHADOWS (1983)
“A buried peace of horror lore that is just not to be missed. I am aware the movie has some issues, mostly with early pacing and some questionable plot elements. However, this is a true watershed moment in Horror history. Never before or again would Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Vincent Price and John Carradine assemble the Horror Avengers and it is worth its weight in gold. This movie could have been two dogs humping for 30 minutes followed by the dinner scene and then 45 more minutes of dogs humping and I would still be happy with the outcome. Shout-out to the always under appreciated Sheila Keith who has a great role as well! Worth a watch for the memory museum in your mind!”
Tony: STRIP NUDE FOR YOUR KILLER (1975)
”
. I don’t own a raincoat, but I was wishing I did as I watched this shamelessly sleazy late-period giallo. Then again, I guess it’d be rather ill-advised to expect THE SOUND OF MUSIC from a movie bearing that title.
A killer in motorcycle helmet and leather cycling gear takes to butchering various innocent (and, this being a giallo, also many NOT so innocent) victims, all of whom are involved with a high-fashion photo studio. Between kills, skeevy fashion photographer Carlo (Nino Castelnuovo) and Studio Assistant Magda (Edwige Fenech, bestill my heart) attempt to solve the mystery of who’s making mincemeat of various models, hangers-on, scumball agents, and other red herrings.
The movie’s directed by Andrea Bianchi, a journeyman who helmed lots of trashy movies in multiple genres: His most famous on this side of the world is probably BURIAL GROUND, the wild zombie flick in which then-28-year old Peter Bark is cast as an incestuous 12-year-old boy. STR!P, trashy as it is, is probably Bianchi’s most technically accomplished movie, with colorful high-gloss cinematography by Franco Delli Colli, fast pacing, lots of that great Giallo model-paint blood, and a great score by Berto Pisano (the opening theme is the bass riff from The Temptations’ “Papa was a Rolling Stone,” only with cooing female Italian voices scat-singing).
But Sweet Jesus in Black Leather Gloves with a Sharp-Ass Knife, is it trashy. The nudity is gratuitous and frequent, and Carlo could be the most scummy, predatory jerk ‘hero’ in the entire giallo canon. In its (and God help me, my) defense, Fenech plays a pretty capable career woman (ill-advised romance with scummy Carlo aside), a couple of the showiest kills are actually directed at dude victims, and the movie’s tawdry elements are so overplayed, it rockets past offensiveness and squarely into the realm of chortle-inducing absurdity. That said, your mileage will vary.
Strange bedfellows post-script: Just eight years previous, Castelnuovo was playing the male romantic lead in Jacques Demy’s UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG, one of the great films of the ’60s and easily one of my top 5 favorite musicals of all time. Something tells me this movie isn’t real prominent on his resume.
I’m not even linking the trailer. It’s just too damned NSFW (more for the copious skin factor than the violence). I will, however, post a screen grab from the movie. J&B blended scotch is more ubiquitous in Giallo cinema than black leather gloves, cutty implements, and Edwige Fenech put together. And STR!P features some of the most in-your-face J&B product placement EVER.”
Amy Herring: THE AUTOPSY OF JANE DOE (2017, Netflix)
“Good film. Seeing the director’s name, I had expectations it would be. I wanted a few more scares, and a few less open body cavity shots (it made it feel too close to why I don’t like true crime dramas – I just feel sick or sad and not spooked), but that’s my preference, not a criticism.
Hopefully this is not too much of a SPOILER: but I have to say, the bit with the bell was fun 
Robin Lindey: THE PURGE: ELECTION YEAR (3) (2016)
“I’ve missed the 3rd & 4th of the series, so #4 is likely to show up at some point as well. I like what the series is becoming. This entry was less “let’s show how many ways we can torture people” than I remember the second being, and I’m completely ok with that. It’s a good human-monster/societal horror movie.”
Brien Gorham: BOOK OF MONSTERS (2019):
” Fun movie – basically Buffy the Vampire Slayer with British accents. It’s a nice blend of humor and gore.”
Jay Walker: THE QUACKY SLASHER (Prime)
“Holy crap, this makes Troll 2’s acting look like Academy Award winning performances 😂
This is quite possibly the dumbest thing I’ve ever watched.
Best thing about it is how short it is.”
Evan Peterson: GIALLO (2009)
“wasn’t sure what to expect. The master of giallo calls a film Giallo? I’m in. I actually didn’t get into it, and I’m a huge Argento fan. The “giallo” of the title actually refers to a character’s jaundice. This film lacks the slickness of Argento’s 20th century work. There’s nothing really cool about it, and it borders on torture porn rather than stylish giallo. Also, Adrien Brody plays a protagonist as well as the killer, which I thought would be a reveal, but they’re completely separate characters with nothing in common. Huh. So there’s that.”
Day 12/89: August 3rd
Kim: CRITTERS (1986)
“Is it wrong that it made me really want a stuffed Critter? Cause I really want one…”
Bob: THE WATCHER IN THE WOODS (2017)
Melissa Joan Hart directs this Lifetime network remake of the 1980 Disney film with Anjelica Huston in the Bette Davis role. It’s just awful. When Huston gives a crap performance, there is trouble. Weird pauses as people try to remember their lines, no chemistry, and no atmosphere. Watched from library rental.
Cody: THE MONSTER CLUB (1981)
“I challenge you to watch this and not have a great time! Such a goddamn fun movie filled to the brim with campy and enough cheese to satisfy even the most grumpy of film watchers. Vincent Price is a vampire that invites John Carradine to a Monster Club! Basically a nightclub filled with Halloween mask monsters getting drunk, dancing and watching a very unconventional stripping routine. The club and its denizens know how to have a good time and there are multiple full length songs/ dance routines that just delighted me to my very core. The stories within are great too! We get the tale of lonely Shadmock(movie explains what the fuck that is), Donald Pleasance hunting the most wholesome vampire ever and a good old fashion escape from flesh eating ghouls! Seriously this movie reminded me what I love so much about Horror, even after a day of watching brutal and nasty gore flicks, I can turn on the fun and enjoy some monsters being goofy as hell. This movie is perfect to watch right after a gut punch movie like Hereditary or the like or just whenever you want a good ol’ monster time! I can’t recommend this one enough!”
Robin Lindsey: BLAIR WITCH (2016)
” I will say this, nothing puts me on edge more in a film than forced perspective. Found footage makes me squirm and want to hide my eyes (my hands may be up at my face, but I never actually look away). I’m not sure I fully liked it, but this movie definitely got to me. Fuck camping.”
Amy Herring: THE POSSESSION OF HANNAH GRACE (2018)
“Well done! Enjoyed.”
Brien Gorham: Thou Wast Mild and Lovely (2014)
“This strange thriller simmers until it explodes in the last few minutes. Writer/Director Josephine Decker keeps her audience on edge with unbalanced compositions, disturbing montages and imagery, and jarring editing. This won’t be for everyone, but it’s certainly a film worth discussing.”
Teresa Cracknell: LORDS OF CHAOS (2019, Hulu)
“Great acting, great movie”
Jay Walker: THE SPANISH CHAIN SAW MASSACRE
“Nope! Just…lol. It’s like a stoned 15 year old wrote this. So much peepeepoopoocaca, boobies, blood.
I mean, at least it’s a splatterfest, so it has that… there’s nothing lacking in the gore department. However, two chainsaw kills (with a visibly non-running saw) is hardly a “massacre”. Dead Alive’s lawnmower scene was a “massacre”. Two kills is like “Hey there’s a chainsaw in this movie”.
Anyway, if you’re looking for artistic integrity, intriguing plot, plausible dialogue, decent acting or good special fx, then this certainly isn’t for you. Tubi has so many great 80’s horror classics, I wouldn’t recommend wasting the hour on this.
Wtf was that 18 minute intro though?”
Evan Peterson: LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM (1988)
” did someone already post about this? I love this batshit crazy film. Ken Russell always puts on a show (TOMMY, THE DEVILS, GOTHIC), and this is no exception.based on a novel by Bram Stoker, It starts as a shucksy British dry comedy, then takes a sharp turn into hallucinations of nuns being raped to death by Roman soldiers. Not my favorite part, but it was so over the top and unnecessary that I appreciate its sheer audacity. I love the ultra stylish female villain and original monster (who sleeps in a basket? Cuz she’s a were-snake-vampire?) and the demonic dragon she worships. But the death dildos got kinda old.”
Milligan stock player Neil Flanagan plays the title role, a 17th century catholic monk whose front of piety and charity camouflages a sort of prison dungeon where Guru passes judgment before meting out punishments like hands being lopped off of hapless petty thieves and other tasty stuff. Guru’s also in league with a vampire woman (Why? Who knows? Who CARES? Go with it.).
Low-budget, willful amateurism is the rule with Andy’s horror flicks, and you do get that in spades here. The ‘kills’ include the usual run of amusingly executed gore gags (love the boiled-egg eyeballs getting stabbed, and the very obvious rubber hands getting hacked off), and it’s all shot with customary slapdash Most of the principals are adorably unskilled: Romantic lead Paul Lieber emotes in this 17th-century setting in period costume, New York accent fully in place (he looks kinda like SNL’s Andy Samberg with acne). Flanagan is the highlight here, with a performance that pole-vaults over over-the-top.
I’ve grown fond of Milligan’s style (or lack thereof) over the years, partly because beneath the errant cheesiness, he’s frequently laying bare his neuroses and acridly cynical world view. The catholic church is shown to be a cruel, monstrous, and unfeeling bureaucracy, ever-ready to exploit its followers. That means that, rinky-dink exterior and all, it’s pretty bitingly relevant.”
Day 11/90: August 2nd
Kim: THE NEST (1988)
“Definitely gave me flashbacks to the roaches in my crappy first New York apartment.”
Bob: JIGSAW (2017) –
While technically better than the last half the series, is underwhelming as lacks any of the energy. Appreciated the return to mostly simple traps instead of the funhouses of the later entries. Watched from Library rental.
Cody: ASYLUM (1972)
“Another dive into the Amicus catalog brings forth another spooktacular entry by my new BFF Roy Ward Baker. Creepy asylum? Check. Severed body parts moving around? Quadruple check. Magic glowing suit requested by Peter Cushing that can bring things to life? Fuck yeah check. Small Soldiers meets Puppet Master? I don’t know why this wouldn’t be a big ol check. A bit of a darker companion to Vault of Horror but with equally interesting stories and concepts, this entry is more than worth a watch! Plus its got a Peter Cushing vs. a Gepetto looking motherfucker for control of a magic rainbow glow suit. I shouldn’t have to say anything else after that!”
Brien Gorham: CURSED (2005)
“An appropriate title for Wes Craven’s “cursed” movie. It’s not an unenjoyable film, but I can’t help but wonder what Craven’s original film would have been like. It’s out there somewhere, in the forest of unreleased films, waiting to be freed…”
Robin Lindsey: WOLFEN (1981)
“It started out catching my interest, but was dragging soon after. A couple of great audio gags were the best part and I enjoyed Gregory Hines’ performance. Otherwise, I was disappointed by the explanation.”
Amy Herring: THE OPEN HOUSE (2018) (Netflix)
After a tragedy, a mom and son move into a family member’s house while it’s on the market and are “besieged by threatening forces,” as the movie description so vaguely states.
I both resent and respect this movie. It got low ratings across the board, but I’m not sure it deserved all of them. The thing is, this movie offers NO answers. And I think the extent to which it denied that was unsatisfying enough to enough people that it was rated low. But the acting is good. The pacing is good. The suspense builds marvelously. The character depth is acceptable. It’s not an overblown scare a minute. It builds dread and tension.
I give it a 3.5 but not because it’s a bad movie. Only because I was hoping for three things from the movie and it didn’t give me what I wanted (can’t share those or they’ll serve as spoilers). If I’d known I wouldn’t have watched it. But I respect this movie because of reasons stated above and also because I think this is true horror in that there are no answers but not in a way that simply makes the movie absurd or too stupid not to unnerve us.
Horror movies tap into our fears, and terror or tragedy without answers – that’s the truly terrifying part of life. Sometimes bad shit happens, without warning, without back story, without explanation or closure. In that way, the movie is weirdly existential. We can’t distance ourselves from what’s happening on the screen because it’s very engaging, but we also can’t as easily make it ‘only a story’ with an explanation: “oh it’s a crazy person” or “oh they had it coming because …”
The movie is not vague or confusing – it has a clear conclusion. We know what happened. We just don’t know why. Hello, the precarious brutality of being human.
I probably sound like a pretentious wanker who has totally overthought it. But I was truly as fascinated by the reactions it provoked in me as I was with what happened on the screen.
Jay Walker: STARRY EYES (2013, Netflix)
“This was a good watch. Entertaining enough for me to sit through. I’m easily bored by the new Netflix horror cliches of creepy kids and hauntings, so I’m not optimistic about much of their catalog.
Starry Eyes is a different model; an aspiring actress engages in the proverbial “sell your soul” deal, and the chaos ensues. There’s some pretty run-of-the-mill kills, and some twisted body horror moments. Definitely worth the watch.”
Evan Peterson: GOTHIC (1986)
“by Ken Russell. This one doesn’t really have a plot, but it’s deliciously ridiculous. It’s lots of erotic phantasmagoric vignettes strung around the clique of Mary and Percy Shelley, her sister Claire Claremont, Lord Byron, and his doctor John Polidori. It’s about ghosts. libertinism, and perversity, and what could be better?”
So this marks my third trip to the well of Norman J. Warren for this list (see also PREY at #24, and TERROR at #23). Warren, a British director, made some fairly tacky (but very entertaining) B-horror epics back in the Bellbottom Era. PREY is actually (dare I say it?) pretty damn good; TERROR is full-on trashy fun. SATAN’S SLAVE, on the other hand, is probably the least fun of the three, for a couple of reasons.
The plot revolves around a young woman (Candace Glendenning) journeying with her parents to visit the snazzy estate of her uncle (top-notch character actor Michael Gough). But a car accident just outside of Uncle’s place hurtles her down an increasingly messed-up rabbit hole of murder, disorientation, and Satanism. And all the messed-uppedness culminates in a twist that will surprise exactly no one with a lick of sense.
I’ll watch Gough in damn near anything, and he’s customarily great here, playing kindly Alfred-type and nasty exploitation/horror heavy at varying turns. British character actor Martin Potter plays his handsome but daft son (very well), and Potter and Glendenning are both unique presences with striking eyes (utilized to very different effect). The attempts at atmosphere sometimes land nicely, the script by frequent Pete Walker screenwriter David McGillivray occasionally shows flashes of tasty/bitchy dialogue, and there’s a nifty nail-file to the eyeball gag that’s a blast in concept, if somewhat unconvincing in execution.
Too bad it’s so damn slow most of the time, larded down with that fatal B-movie no-no: Endless scenes of exposition and sitting around that’ll give the most patient horror hound the itchy pants. And there’s some trigger-warning-worthy insert footage, included by Warren (very reluctantly) in the hopes of spicing up the movie’s international grosses. Even in a genre steeped in the unsavory, the aforementioned footage is just, well, kinda icky.”
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